Seventeen Israelis Make Forbes Billionaire List

Seventeen of the world's 1,426 billionaires are Israeli, according to Forbes, the business magazine.

By David Lev

First Publish: 3/5/2013, 3:45 AM

Idan Ofer (L.) with his late father Sam Ofer

Flash 90

Seventeen of the world's 1,426 billionaires are Israeli, according to Forbes. The business magazine on Monday released its list of “the richest people on the planet,” membership in which requires at least a billion dollars in assets.

The richest Israelis is Idan Ofer, one of the heads of the Israel Corporation, along with his brother Eyal Ofer, who is also on the list. Idan Ofer is said to have $6.5 billion in assets, according to Forbes, while Eyal Ofer has $4.4 billion. They are listed at numbers 182 and 198 respectively on the worldwide list.

The Ofer brothers are followed by Stef Wertheimer, who several years ago sold most of his Iscar to American billionaire Warren Buffett for some $4 billion. Wertheimer is number 286 on the list, with $4.4 billion. Next on the list is Shari Arison, who owns, among other things, the Carnival cruise line, and has a substantial interest in Bank Hapoalim. Arison is number 308 on the list, with an estimated fortune of $4.2 billion.

Of the Israelis who made their fortune in high-tech, the wealthiest is Teddy Sagi, number 831 on the list, with $1.8 billion. Sagi made his fortune as head of Playtech, the world's biggest online gambling site. Another Internet billionaire on the list is Gil Shwed, who started security company Checkpoint. Shwed is 922 on the list, with $1.65 billion in assets. Checkpoint's co-founder, Marius Nacht, is also on the list, at 1,342, with a billion dollars.

Also on the list is hareidi real estate magnate Lev Leviev, owner of Africa-Israel. Leviev is 974 on the list, with $1.5 billion.

The richest man in the world is Mexico's Carlos Slim, the fourth year in a row he has achieved this title, due to his wide-ranging holdings in telecommunications, retail, and banking. Slim is said to have about $73 billion in assets. The richest American is the number two name on the list, Microsoft's Bill Gates, with $67 billion.